Wrong Place
by TheDilettante
Summary: An engineer living in the less extravagant area of the Wards gets involved with Saren's plan, all because of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. OC/AU (Updates may be random at times)
1. Just a normal day

**So idk what I'm doing. Haven't had much inspiration lately due to schooling and shifting interests. I recently had the chance to get all the Mass Effect games and DLCs, and I got hooked. After reading some self-inserts, I wanted to try my own spin on the story. Hopefully, we'll get farther with this than with my other poor attempts at fiction.**

 **'insertstuffhere' - thoughts**

 **"insertstuffhere" - dialogue**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, only the character I created.**

 **This is actually not a self-insert. It involves an OC and his tribulations. It may be AU, but we'll see what happens.**

* * *

*clitter* *clatter*

The sound of metal parts rang throughout the alleyway as a small figure was rummaging around the area.

"Maybe I'll find something today," The young man whispered to himself, scanning the assorted parts with his omnitool while keeping one hand near his pistol.

Wiping his hands on his ragged clothes, he stood up, his scrawny body aching, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Not today, huh…" None of the parts were salvageable; most were cracked or actually broken enough to be considered trash.

The man shut off his omnitool and turned to leave the alleyway when he heard some footsteps and some loud laughter. He froze. Where could he hide?

When you were a "street rat," paranoia was a must - whether it's C-Sec or a simple civilian passing by.

After seeing some metal containers along the side of the wall, the man positioned himself on an alcove overseeing the alleyway. This way, he had no worries that there could be anyone else near him. Just as he jumped on top of the last box, a turian along with some salarians walked in, holding assault rifles.

"Hey, do you know if our informant's gonna arrive?" One of the salarians asked.

The sole turian scoffed. "Of course, Fist isn't gonna lead us astray, if only to protect his own ass."

The young man narrowed his eyes. These aliens appeared to be mercs, by the basis of their armor and weapons, and they also mentioned Fist, the owner of Chora's Den. However, something about them just irked the human's sense of danger.

"Shut up will ya?" The other salarian barked. "I think our informant is here!"

The human stiffened, believing that they had detected him, but he was relieved to see another alien walk in. This one wearing a mask, a hood, and a suit that covered the entire body.

A quarian.

"Are you the Shadow Broker?" The quarian asked, a female voice slightly garbled by the voice modulator on the helmet.

The human noted the quarian's accent, having only seen them on the extranet and not on any holovids.

"No darling," The turian sauntered towards the only female. "But he's gonna be here. Why don't you wait until he gets here?"

"What? I told Fist that I would give the information only to the Shadow Broker!?" The quarian was getting furious. "I'm not staying here any longer!"

" **Huh? I don't think you're going to go anywhere."** The turian pointed his assault rifle at the alien female.

'It seems that this deal is a bit more complicated that it seems to be,' The human mused as he considered his options.

If he simply waited, the quarian would most likely die. But he would live.

If he decided to help, the quarian may be able to escape. But his chances of surviving would be low.

However, despite the hardships in his life, the young human could not abandon this quarian female, obviously outnumbered 1 to 3. He was lucky that he had just the programs for moments like these...although they weren't fully tested.

With a few keystrokes, his omnitool flashed blue. If the mercs had shields, they would disappear for a few moments, like an AOE Overload.

Sighing to himself, he prepared to jump from the alcove he had been waiting in. The jump was a bit high, but nothing that he couldn't handle.

Seriously though, he had to stop playing those old stealth games from before the Space Age of Earth.

The human let out a long breath and jumped from the balcony, pressing a button on his omnitool. Immediately the mercs' shields died, confirming the success of his program, and the human landed on one of the salarians, breaking his neck.

"Wha-" The other salarian raised his rifle but was shot twice in the stomach and once to the head.

The human heard a bang.

'Shit!' He turned to see the quarian holding a shotgun, the turian dead and bleeding on the floor.

For a moment, both of them stared at each other, at least, the young man thought she was staring at him.

"I had that handled," The quarian finally said, holstering her weapon behind her. "Thank you though, for saving my life."

Crap.

Although the young man was slightly confident in his ability to fight, he knew (and admitted wholeheartedly) that his people skills were a bit lacking.

"Um...it was the least...I could do," The young man stuttered out. It was then he saw a most peculiar group approaching the both of them: three humans, a turian, and a krogan.

One of the humans, a female with strikingly bright red hair, pointed at the bodies. "I guess you two have already taken care of Saren's thugs. I'm getting ahead of myself though. My name's Jean Shepard, Alliance Military. I'm searching for evidence of Saren's treachery against the Citadel. I believe that you have proof…?"

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. I believe we should discuss this in a more secure area."

"Of course, follow me. What about him?" She pointed at young man, still holding his pistol out.

As the rest of the group moved to see me, there were many reactions: the turian had one of scrutiny, the krogan had one of ambivalence, and the other two humans (male and female) had ones of pity.

"Ah, the human? He should follow us. Simply being involved will put him in danger from Saren. Who knows what he can do to the man?" The quarian turned to the face the young man again. "What did you say your name was..?"

"...Chip."

Little did Chip know, he would get involved in one of the galaxy's most life-threatening situations.

* * *

 **It took me about an hour to write all of this, and this was after the idea suddenly sprung into my head after attempting Calculus homework.**

 **I appreciate any reviews, constructive criticisms, etc, but any sort of flames will be ignored.**

 **Thanks, I plan to update ASAP, whenever I find time.**


	2. Realizations

**Yay, here it is.**

 **Disclaimer in first chapter.**

* * *

"Shepard, why are you here?" The moment that Chip saw the man in the white suit,, he knew that this situation was a bit larger than it appeared to be. It was the Human Ambassador Udina, and next to him was another person wearing military clothing, perhaps Shepard's superior?

Shepard and the quarian stepped forward. "Ambassador Udina, Captain Anderson, I believe I have found evidence that Saren has indeed committed treason. Tali…"

"I am Tal'Zorah nar Rayya, but please call me Tali," She said. "And yes, I found some residual sound recordings from some geth right before the data was unretrievable."

As the quarian took out her omnitool, Chip noticed a datapad open, schematics of some weapon prototypes shown on a hologram. Pistols, sniper rifles, assault rifles, pistols, and even some armor attachments were all free for him to sift through!

Of course, during this time, Chip did not hear any of the talk about Saren and the mysterious voice at the end of the recording. However, he was jolted out of his activity when he heard the ambassador speak again.

"Shepard, you may have done for us a great deed, even if you made a mess down at Chora's Den. We must take this to the Council immediately," He motioned towards the rest of the group. "Will the rest of them follow?"

"Yes, they will Ambassador," Shepard replied, turning towards her motley crew. "Wait, where's Chip?"

Everyone heard some whistling, and they saw the man crouch beside a desk, holding a datapad.

"Hey, that's some classified information!" Anderson lumbered over and snatched it right out of Chip's hands.

Udina placed a hand on his forehead. "I understand having everybody else here, but why is this...boy here?"

Chip narrowed his eyes at the man. He had the audacity to call him a child...but he guessed that calling him a child would be accurate; Chip got distracted by the datapad. However, that thing was a mine full of information that he could use later on, perhaps sell the prototypes if needed.

Shepard chuckled a bit. "His name is Chip, and he was the one who saved our quarian friend here right before we found her. Who know's what Saren will do now that Tali survived, so I thought that it would be a good idea for him to tag along for now."

Looking abashed, Udina cleared his throat. "I see...Thank you...Chip, for possibly securing the most important thing we need to convict Saren of his crimes. I apologize for my insult."

Chip shrugged.

'At least the man had good tact, better than my own.' He mused, thumbing a newly copied data chit.

* * *

So Shepard was named the first human Spectre. That was a surprise to Chip (who still did not fully understand the reasons why he was still tagging along), and now her first assignment was to track down Saren.

As the group in an elevator to get to the docking bay, Chip had finally found the chance to ask Shepard his question.

"Shepard, why am I here?" This stopped the entire group, who all stared at the lanky man. "I kinda get that I'm here for my safety, but I don't really think I need to be here. All I did was just save a person who was in a sticky situation." He scratched his neck in confusion.

"Hey, I resent that!" Tali answered. "I would've been fine on my own."

"Really? Did you notice that the two salarians had their omnitools ready so they could use programs like Overload and Incinerate? You may have been able to take the turian on your own, but being shot at with no shields while on fire is probably not the best situation to be in." Chip's memory took over, stating almost everything he could remember before he killed the two mercenaries.

Chip couldn't see past the mask, but he knew Tali didn't have a reply.

"Ha, I like this whelp." Wrex laughed. "Pity he's skinny like a stick."

Shepard stared at the man for a few moments. "I guess this is why you're here. Not only for your own protection, but also for your seemingly uncanny observation skills. Everyone has their talents."

Talent? Chip wouldn't call it talent. It was merely a survival instinct that stood out the most in him.

"Well, whatever reason it is, we'll have to discuss it later. I see Captain Anderson over there," Garrus pointed at the walkway, where the man was.

Shepard, Ashley, and Kaidan all saluted to the Captain. "Sir, you wanted to see me? We were just about to go procure supplies for our mission." The newly inducted Spectre said.

The man nodded. "Yes, I called you over here because of an important part of your mission, or perhaps any mission that takes place in space. Since you're the new Spectre, you'll need to be able to get to places as quickly and stealthily as possible. That's why I'm giving you the Normandy."

Chip glanced over at the ship. It was smaller than most ships, sleek and shining with its metal plates and painted: Normandy SR-1.

'The ship is more unique than most I've seen. Then again, I don't get out much.'

"But sir, it's your ship!" Shepard protested, still shocked that the Normandy was hers now.

Anderson shook his head. "My needs aren't that important now. If you're going to track down Saren, you need all the help you can get. I trust that the Normandy will be most helpful in that venture. The crew has already been notified, and they also trust your leadership...Commander."

Shepard sighed. "Thank you, Captain."

"There's also a bit of….personal reasons why I'm helping you out so much Shepard," Anderson explained. "To be honest, I was the first prospective human candidate to be a Spectre."

"Really Captain?" Kaidan said.

Anderson nodded. "If it wasn't for Saren's sabotage during my mission, perhaps I would've been the first Human Spectre, but my grudge against him isn't as petty as that. It is because of his hatred for humans, and now he might be working with something much larger than anything this galaxy has dealt with before."

The captain looked at Shepard. "But, now you're a Spectre, and now Saren can be stopped before everyone is affected. Human, turian, asari, salarian, and every other species may be in grave danger. I just have a gut feeling that you will be at the center of all this."

Shepard gained a determined look in the eye and nodded. "I won't let you down sir. I'll find him."

"I know you will, but even if I'm wrong, I'm confident that you will be a great Spectre. Good luck, and excuse me, I have to meet with my superiors."

With that, the Captain walked off, taking a shuttle to his next destination.

"Well then...I'll go inside the Normandy for a bit. I gotta check up on the crew. Can I leave the rest to you all?" Shepard asked. "Chip, you should get some armor and maybe some weapons, in the meantime."

"...alright."

"I'll go help him," Garrus said. "I'll contact some people I know for weapons and armor."

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 **I appreciate any reviews, constructive criticisms, and other things as well.  
Updates may or may not be sporatic, and they may or may not have the same word length.**


	3. Transactions

**Disclaimer in first chap**

* * *

Chip stepped out of the rapid transit vehicle, Garrus following him. The turian had some contacts for supplies and equipment.

The duo approached a short and stout alien with a mask in the Market district. It was a volus, if Chip remembered correctly.

"Hmm, it's a bit unusual to see an Earth-clan with a Palaven-clan," The vendor wheezed out. "What can I do for you today?"

"We need some things for our...friend here," Garrus replied. "What do you want, Chip?"

'Well, some armor would be nice, something easy to move around in. Maybe an extra pistol or two, mine's not exactly the best one to shoot with, I'll take an assault rifle as well.'

"I'll see what I can do Earth-clan," The volus said, glancing through his catalogue.

Chip grimaced. His tendency to speak his thoughts has gotten him in some tight spots before. He would have to work on discretion in the future.

"So, Chip," Garrus looked down at me. "First it was petty thievery, now you're rummaging in the trash?" One could almost sense the amusement in his voice.

The height difference between the turian and the human was there, but Chip's slouch wasn't helping much.

Chip shrugged. "It was either that or get caught by C-Sec again, and it probably wouldn't be you who would arrest me." He had been arrested by Garrus before, but he let him go free with a simple warning.

"I see. How's business?"

"As good as it can be, I can only make so much by selling scrap metal and repairing broken down machines."

"Oh, so you're a bit of a tinkerer?"

"I've always been one, you just haven't seen me do things yet."

"I guess you'll get along with Tali then. Quarians are known to be great engineers, despite all of the animosity towards them."

Chip had noticed all of the cross and distrustful looks that people and aliens have sent the young quarian as they went to Udina earlier. Maybe it would be a good idea to learn more about her, perhaps see what all the fuss was about. He wasn't one to judge until he had gotten to know a person.

"Earth-clan, I have procured a Mantis armor along with an Avenger assault rifle and a Stiletto pistol, will that be to your satisfaction?" The volus asked.

"Um, I guess," Chip replied. "How much is the cost?"

"I'll handle it Chip. Think of it as a gift for getting me into Shepard's crew. If you hadn't saved Tali, I'd probably be doing paperwork down in C-Sec," Garrus gave the volus a credit chit.

The volus clapped in joy. "Thank you for your transaction Palaven-clan. Where would you like this equipment to be shipped to?"

"The Normandy."

"Of course, I've also taken the liberty to add in some mods, if you would like to use them, as an...incentive to come back, if you will. Safe travels, Earth-clan, Palaven-clan."

* * *

The duo were walking towards the docking bay when Chip noticed a certain volus standing by the door.

"Hey Garrus, I need to talk to somebody before I leave. Why don't you go on ahead? Although I'd appreciate it if you'd wait in front of the ship," Chip grinned. "It's not every day you get to step in a ship like that. Who knows how to get on?"

Garrus stared at the volus for a moment, then barked with laughter. "Sure, as if I wouldn't know how to get on a Turian-made ship!" With that, the turian walked through the bay doors.

Chip turned to the volus. "Barla Von, I wonder why you stepped out of your bank to see little old me."

"Well, it isn't every day that one of my best suppliers has to leave on a mission like this," The volus wheezed.

Chip snickered. He had stumbled into the volus one day when he was trying to test out the security systems of the bank. The engineer thought that he would've been sent to C-Sec, but it turned out that Barla Von had orders from the Shadow Broker to keep an eye on him. It wasn't Chip's scraps that had the Shadow Broker interested -

It was **information**.

While Barla Von had his own connections, Chip was able to do more things for the Shadow Broker with his job skulking in the seedy parts of the Citadel. It wasn't like Chip was paid much anyways. He wanted more than money; he wanted inventions.

Whenever Chip found schematics that interested him, he would forward those to the volus, who would then show it to the Shadow Broker. Many times, they would be useless. But things like weapon plans and armor designs landed Chip with prototypes that would be extremely useful.

However, Chip hadn't found anything much yet...until now.

"Well, as a parting gift, I'd like to present you with this," Chip sent all the data that he had copied from Udina's room.

"...this is unexpected," The volus commented. "There's much more substantial data than ever before. Maybe you've hit the….what's that human expression….the jackpot this time Earth-clan."

Barla Von waddled off, but Chip almost swore that he could see the alien have a skip in his step.

* * *

The Normandy was amazing. An internal emission sink stealth system that enabled the ship to store heat - allowing stealth from radar. The Tantalus Drive Core was larger than any core he had ever seen in a ship. Tali was so excited at seeing the drive core (she squealed with joy, but the voice-modulator slightly distorted her voice). With GARDIAN point defense lasers, kinetic barriers, and a spinal mass accelerator cannon, Chip had no doubt that this turian-human made ship would be able to traverse the galaxy with no problem.

Well, it wasn't like Chip had really much experience with space travel besides the one he took to get to the Citadel.

Chip had decided on a bunk after asking Shepard.

 _"It's not like Wrex or Garrus could sleep in a bunk comfortably. Maybe Tali would get one, too,"_ She had said.

His omni-tool suddenly had an alert.

 **ENCRYPTED CHANNEL 1092-CLASS-VIP**

I appreciate the new treasure hoard you have given me. I believe you would be able to get some prototypes soon. One of these schematics has a weapon that can fire shells with the explosive capability of one of your Earth nuclear weapons.

\- S.B.

* * *

The engineer grinned. He would finally have a new toy to play with. Chip deleted the message and set on to optimizing his tech programs when the intercoms crackled with life.

"Chip, do you mind coming to the comm room? We're discussing our first destination," Shepard said.

He sighed. It looked like he would have to rest later.

* * *

 **Sorry for late update, but it's here. Please review and wait for the next update~**


	4. Getting our hands wet

"Thanks to the intel we got from Tali, we've gotten information that an Asari Matriarch is allied with Saren," Shepard explained. "That asari is Matriarch Benezia."

Meanwhile, Chip wasn't paying attention to the Commander, nodding off.

"Chip?"

He startled awake. "Huh?" The Commander was in no mood for games.

"Chip, if you can't stay awake during a briefing, then I don't think I should take you on ground missions, you might even fall asleep out there."

Wrex laughed. "Ha, he's just uninterested in the reasons for this missions, like me. He just has the quad to show it."

After a sigh, Shepard continued. "Anyways, we will be tracking down a Liara T'Soni in Therum. She is an archaeologist studying the ruins of Protheans."

"Isn't that the ancient race that preceded all organic life?" Garrus remarked, restless from sitting.

Shepard replied. "Perhaps. Regardless, that's not why we're taking this trip into the Artemis Tau cluster. This mission would be rather simple if the Geth had not already landed on the planet and established a defense. We'll have to get in and out as fast as possible, since Saren is only getting farther and farther away the more time we waste."

"Uh...sir? Permission to speak freely?" Williams spoke. With a nod from the Commander she continued.

"Does that mean that we will take the Mako?" As she said this, her face turned pale.

Shepard grinned. "Yep! And I'll be driving that baby. After Garrus's calibrations, it should run smoother than ever."

Still, this did little to assuage Williams's fears. "Sir, I heard many things about the Mako from some of the other cadets on the Normandy. They referred to it as a monstrosity that should be destroyed."

"Ha, even if some humans aren't up for it, I don't think a vehicle could be that horrible for anybody, right Shepard?" Wrex chuckled.

"Right! Because I'm driving it!"

Suddenly, Joker's voice rang out. "Commander, we're approaching the planet in about 20 minutes."

"Thanks Joker," Shepard turned to her ground crew. "Wrex, Chip, Garrus, you're with me. Make sure you're well-equipped and prepared. Chip, stay behind after this briefing."

Chip, who had tuned out the whole meeting, looked up from his omnitool.

What had Chip looked at on his omnitool?

 **ENCRYPTED CHANNEL 1092-CLASS-VIP**

It seems that you will be headed onto a mission that may endanger all of us. Of course, as one of my prized informants, I will bestow you a gift to help you. There is no "catch" attached to this. Think of it as good will. In the event that you do survive this mission, you may do with the gift as you please. You will know when you have received the gift.

S.B.

Chip was pondering on what this gift was. He was thankful that the Shadow Broker had taken the time to reward him, but that didn't specify what the gift was. He thought that the gift may be a new tech program, or an attachment for his omnitool. Regardless, he would find out eventually, the Shadow Broker always seemed to know where he was, even if Chip looked out for tracers of any sort.

* * *

Even as the Mako dropped on the dusty ground of Therum, Chip was wondering about the gift. He failed to notice the antics that were occurring.

"Shepard, what are you doing!?" Garrus was grabbing onto the side with all his might. "You're going to flip the Mako!"

"Hahaha, it's all part of my plan!" Shepard was laughing as she weaved by the large Geth, confusing its targeting sensors.

Wrex was laughing. "Shepard, hurry up and turn this ship so I can kill it!"

"Shepard, I thought you said we're trying not to waste time!"

From the looks of it, the group could not proceed with the Mako. Thus, they sealed their helmets and exited the Mako, taking extra care not to alert the Geth wandering about. As the smallest of the group, Chip pushed forward and scouted, pointing out the Geth that were on watch.

After observation, it seemed that the Geth were almost robotic, not just in their appearance, but in their movements. Not a single one was out of place, or being inefficient. Just what was the Geth? Perhaps if he had been paying attention at the meeting, he would know.

The group was moving quickly. The few skirmishes that took place ended just as quickly as it started, thanks to Chip's information as well as Garrus's sharpshooting and Shepard's biotics. Wrex grumbled more and more, as it seemed that he was having little involvement.

"I'm sure your time will come Wrex," Chip said. Meanwhile, he was enjoying the cream of the crop with the remains of the Geth that were being destroyed in every fight. Sometimes, he was lucky enough to simply fry the Geth with an Overload rather than demolishing them. Of course, he ripped off the head just in case, but Chip was satisfied with his loot. Maybe he could get some good parts, or send them off to the Shadow Broker.

* * *

Up ahead, the rest of the mine work area seemed to be abandoned, but from Chip's experience, appearances can be very deceiving.

"Commander, it's too silent," Chip said, crouching on the ground.

Shepard stopped and scanned the area ahead. "It won't do to simply wait. Let's bring the fight to them."

With a signal, the group advanced slowly and methodically, taking care to watch all sides. Suddenly, a flash of white flickered in the corner of Chip's eye. It was a Geth, but a different type. While the other Geth they had fought were bipedal, this one was much thinner and moved on all fours, jumping around with skill and efficiency. While it didn't appear that this Geth had a weapon, they noticed a red glare shining from its single eye.

"Scatter! It's gonna snipe us!" Shepard yelled. The group moved to follow her orders, but something landed on the ground in front of it, sending tremors through the ground.

* * *

 **Sorry, it's been too long, I finally found the time to write a little more.**


End file.
